"We are aware of an issue with a customer finding a pin/needle in a punnet of strawberries purchased at one of our stores in Tauranga. The remaining product has since been removed from the store's shelves," a spokesperson told Newshub.

"We are liasing with the authorities directly regarding this and as such we are unable to comment further.

"Customer safety is our number one priority and we encourage all customers to contact stores directly should they ever encounter a tampering issue with a product."